dothack: OS
by Starless One
Summary: A mysterious girl posesses a player.
1. Chapter 1

_Consciousness._

_What is it?_

_Is it simply a stream of data, uninterrupted by standby?_

_If so, I am conscious._

_Or maybe that stream of data, to be truly conscious, must be accompanied by that of a heart._

_But such a thing is…difficult for One to acquire when One is lacking a physical presence. One must obtain said presence, or One will be hunted by the Red Dawn._

Session 1

Birth

****

-Jason Hey Guys

**-Dianna** Hey J

**-FUGOFF** 'sup

**-Rukonon** 'sup J

**-Cid7** Hey

**-Jason** So, what's on for tonight?

**-FUGOFF** 'ow 'bout MFD?

**-Jason** Monstrous Frightful?

**-Jason** Can we handle it?

**-Dianna** You questioning our competency?

**-Rukonon** AFK, BRB

**-Jason** A'ight, A'ight! Let's go…


	2. Chapter 2

_If One is to consider the trinity of light, One is reminded of biblical allusions. Yet this trinity's perfections lie in its flaws, rather than lack thereof._

_The sword, staff, and serpents are flawed. In no way are they godly, and yet for that reason, they are perfect. They are Human. Thus, they are desirable._

A chiming noise alerted the three players that they had arrived.

Before them lay a vast green plain, beautifully lit by the shallow pallor of the moon.

One, clothed in robes upon robes, waved his hand, causing all three to light up with an unearthly glow. With that, they took off, almost no speech between them, at a gait that belied there human legs.

Within seconds, the group arrived at a deep hole in the ground, marked by the skulls of fantastic creatures.

His blade sang true, and the last monster fractioned into thousands of points of light, before fading into nothing.

"Oy, nice hit, Dianna"

"Thanks J"

"Anyone got an Ocarina? Dun feel like fighting to the top."

"Yeh, one sec."

"Wait, wuzzat?"

As each of the players looked up, a frail girl came out of the shadows.

"Think it's an event?"

_She_

"Huh?"

_One is to be referred to as she if one is to begin the journey to humanity.  
_

With a flick of her wrist, both players beside Jason slumped into the ground, there operators dead.

"Whu- _what the hell happened!_"

The girl lightly stepped over the two bodies and embraced Jason

Looking into his eyes, she carefully executed the program that lay dormant inside her.

_  
One is about to begin one's journey.  
_

Jason slumped into her arms.

_And you are about to begin yours._

**-Rukon:** Back now

**-Rukon: **…

**-Rukon:**Oy, wehere is everyone?

**-Jason:**They were vanquished.

**-Rukon: **They died? O…K..?

**-Rukon:**You beat MFD?

**-Jason:**No

**-Jason:**But One has won

**-Rukon:**huh?

**-Jason:**One has transcended the flow…One has transcended to flawed perfection

**-Jason:**One is alive

**-Jason:**I am alive

**Jason has logged off**


	3. Chapter 3

A frail girl awoke, her head aching from the fall she had taken. A wave of nausea passed over her, prompting remembrance of the cryptic woman who had confronted her. Sitting up, she reached towards her hip pocket, where her medications lay, and froze.

Where there should have been jeans, the girl's hand met silk. Acclimating herself to this development, she opened her eyes.

And closed them just as quickly, for she saw an open field lit by two moons.

So she was lost.

Not bothering to even begin the daunting task of explaining her exodus from computer to field, the girl stood up and shivered as a cold breeze lit through her legs. So she was lost and naked. Wearing a dress to, by the feel of it.

"Fuck…" Jason's voice sounded unnaturally hoarse and high in his ears. So, lost naked, wearing a dress, and sick.

Stumbling forward, a burst of static, words barely discernable across the wave of noise, flashed across her mind.

She dropped to the ground, clutching her head until the wave of information passed through.

With a strangled sob, she curled into a fetal position, sung slowly to sleep by the haunting melody of the world.


	4. Chapter 4

Session 2

Awakening

Awareness.

The boy barely heard the noise around him, until electricity lanced through his chest, calling his dead heart to life.

"Clear!"

One more jolt, and he awoke, vomiting onto his chest, clearing his throat of blood and flesh.

A frumpy looking woman immediately leapt upon him, hugging his cehst, eliciting a gag of pain.

"Jason, ohmygod Jason, you're alright!"

A strange look crossed over his face. "Yes. One is-"

He smiled.

"or rather…_I_ am alright."


	5. Chapter 5

The girl had found out some very disturbing facts.

Firstly, she should have been a he.

Secondly, she was lost in a place that had one more moon than what was normal.

Third, though she had identified herself as male, she had no recollection of anything personal. No remembrance of family, friends, birthplace…nothing.

But the most disconcerting were the voices.

Every couple of minutes, dialogue would rip through her skull, dialogue that she understood, but could not comprehend.

_Dianna!_

She whirled around, trying to find the source. This burst was…different. It seemed to target her, yet was in no way any more real than the other voices.

_Oh god, Dianna, they're here!_

Was this who she was? Dianna?

Why won't you help me? The Red Dawn are here! Oh god- 

"I-I…can you hear me?"

Oh, thank god, I thought you had left us! 

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

A stream of gibberish, the fear so palpable she could feel it, cut her off. Most chillingly, above the fear was a voice of clear, cold logic.

In the name of Balthazar the third, we, the Crimson Knights of CC, delete you- 

Distant memories, not her own, flooded into Dianna's consciousness.

_-for being a suspected vagrant AI-_

Images of a man flashed in quick succession, holding a gleaming axe, poised to strike.

Dianna, I'm sorry, the collective must go on. I'm downloading my memory- 

A great pain coursed through her body, forcing Dianna to her knees.

Just as quickly, the stream of images petered away to nothing, leaving hollow anguish.

"Kanna…"

Without reason or meaning, Dianna cried. She had never known, or perhaps didn't remember Kanna, but felt a great longing to know the now-dead girl.

What gave these men, the Crimson Knights, the right to murder?

Exhausted from the ordeal, Dianna began to talk to herself.

"But she…I didn't know her-

"But I _did_. Kanna was a great woman-

"_How_ do I know that?

"…I don't know."

With a sigh, Dianna stares into the double moons.

"Fucking hell, I just wanna go home."

Three golden rings, each scripted with ancient runes, began to circle her, moving faster and faster until only a white shimmer surrounded her.

"Shit, what'd I-"

The land drained into a single point, before refocusing.

"…do?"

Before Dianna lay a beautiful city, expansive and lit by (thank god) a single sun.


	6. Chapter 6

The man held a sword to her neck, quivering in anxiety. "In the name of Balthazar, I del-"

"You mean kill."

He looks at Dianna uncertainly. "No, I'm delet-"

"Cut the crap. I'm alive."

He shakes his head. "You can't be alive, you're just a program."

She nods. "You're right, I am. But than again, so are you. So, by your own laws, can I not kill you?"

The man growls. "I am alive, flesh and blood!" With a cry, he thrusts his sword downwards, right to her frail body.

Making a 'v' with her thumb and finger, she catches the blade, and flips it out of the way. "Is that what really deems life?" Spinning around his body, she grabs his hand and presses it against her chest. There, softly, a heart beats.

He pulls away, frightened. "No, that's just…just fake. It's-"

"It's a routine that my body triggers…and if that routine stops, I die. How is that different from you?"

With a strangled sob, he thrusts in and out, blade seeking even the smallest ounce of flesh.

She tries her best to stop him…but cannot stop the inevitable. His blade finds its mark, dropping her to her knees.

Holding her side to stem the flow of blood, she looks up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "What gives you this right?"

His eyes narrow, as he raises his weapon. "It's my duty."

Smiling weakly, she looks into his eyes. "Duty. A man named Inouye once said that people have an obligation, a duty to disobey immor-"

The blade sinks through Dianna, and she falls into darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Jason awakens, feeling the iron taste of blood in his mouth, the dream still frighteningly real in his mind.

Standing up, he walks over to the window, watching as the first shreds of sunlight peek over the horizon.

"Only I can stop them now…"


End file.
